South Korea - The Korea Times

Two-star general appointed to senior member of UN Command

A  Korean major general was appointed to lead the United Nations Command's military armistice commission, which supervises the implementation of the armistice of the 1950-53 Korean War, the Combined Forces Command (CFC) said Tuesday.Maj. Gen. Jang Kyung-wook will lead the UNC's five-member military armistice commission team in the truce village of Panmunjom on the southern section of the demilitarized zone, which is co-supervised by five representatives on the northern side of the DMZ.With 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the war, U.S. Gen. James Thurman now serves as commander of the U.N. forces, U.S. forces in Korea and Combined Forces Command, a joint military operation body.The 56-year-old Jang was also dual-hatted as the CFC's deputy chief of staff.The CFC, which has served as a control tower of the two allies' military partnership, will be dissolved in December 2015, when Seoul retakes wartime operational control of its forces from Washington.Negotiations have been underway to create an alternative body to replace the joint military command st

Nov 14, 2012

Korea, Israel discuss ways to expand defense cooperation

Senior military officials of Korea and Israel held talks on Monday to increase cooperation in global relief efforts and defense exchanges between the two nations, Seoul's defense ministry said. Lee Sang-wook, a senior logistics official, and his Israeli counterpart, Brigadier General Mofid Ganem, discussed how to make some terms in a bilateral memorandum of understanding, signed in 2010, more concrete in a bid to pave the way for the joint humanitarian relief efforts in the future, the ministry said."Because the present memorandum of understanding is too comprehensive, we need to put the agreement into shape," Park Seung-heung, a senior military official, said. "The two sides will discuss mutual support for logistics, oil and ammunition for humanitarian disaster relief efforts in the Middle East." The two sides have alternately hosted the annual meeting since 2009 as part of efforts to expand two-way defense cooperation. Last year, Seoul reached a deal to buy portable anti-tank guided missiles from Israel in a bid to protect its western border islands near the tense border with North

Nov 12, 2012

'Dokdo claims weaken Japan's standing'

This is the 15th and final in a series of articles contributed by international and Korean experts shedding light on Japan’s claim to Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo and other affairs that illustrate Japan’s lack of remorse over misdeeds it has committed. ― EDBy Chung Mong-joonJapan's claims over the Dokdo islands symbolize all that isChung Mong-joonwrong in Korea-Japan relations along with the role that Japan has played in the region. That Japan continues to make territorial claims based on its imperialist past demonstrates the callous attitude its government has toward its former victims as well as a historical forgetfulness that continues to astonish its neighbors. That Japan seeks to play a more important role in ensuring peace and security in the region while making claims that are major sources of tension and distrust seems naive, at best.Japan first laid claim to the Dokdo islands during the Russo-Japanese War. It incorporated them into the Shimane Prefecture in June 1905, claiming that the territory was unclaimed.  Three months l

Nov 8, 2012

Joint Chiefs of Staff to take central role in arms procurement decision

The defense ministry is pushing to centralize the arms procurement process by giving the Joints Chiefs of Staff (JCS) the authority to assess the military equipment needed for each of the three military branches, officials said Thursday.Currently, each chief of the Army, Navy and Air Force separately assesses how much equipment exists and what will be needed for their own forces to conduct operations, with those decision reviewed and mediated by the JCS, which oversees the operations of all three branches. Once the assessments are made, the state arms procurement agency, an independent organization, selects contractors and buys military equipment that fits the required operational capability (ROC) with approval from the parliament.To simplify this complicated decision-making process, the ministry will submit a revision bill to integrate the procurement procedure under the control of the JCS, officials said. "The current procurement decision is a multi-step process, which is time-consuming and inefficient," a senior ministry official said. "(The ministry) will revise the decision proc

Nov 8, 2012

Korea signs deal to export 20 KT-1 trainer jets to Peru

Korea signed a $200 million deal to export 20 of its KT-1 trainer jets to Peru over the next four years, the state arms procurement agency said Wednesday.The state-funded Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) will ship four aircraft and build the remaining 16 in Peru under the government-to-government deal, the Defense Acquisition and Procurement Agency (DAPA) said in a release.Peru has become the third country to sign an export deal following Indonesia in 2001 and Turkey in 2007. "In light of the (KT-1) exports to Peru, (Korea) has paved the way to enter into the South American market, following Southeast Asia and Europe," DAPA chief No Dae-rae said during a signing ceremony in Peru. "We expect Korean defense contractors will expand exports to the South American market in the future."The KT-1 is a trainer jet jointly developed by the KAI and the state-run Agency for Defense Development (ADD) for the South Korean Air Force. About 100 aircraft have been in service in the nation since 2000. To help Peruvian firms to assemble the aircrafts in local factories, the KAI will share technology to

Nov 7, 2012

F-15K unable to carry stealth missile

F-15KBy Lee Tae-hoonMilitary officials acknowledged Monday that the U.S.-made air-to-surface stealth cruise missiles that the country is pushing to acquire for precision attacks against high value targets may be semi-incompatible with the F-15K. They said the aircraft would only be able to carry the missile under its right wing.“It is true that there is problem with the F-15K carrying the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) under its left wing,” an official of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.Korea has set aside 388 billion won ($343 million) to procure either 177 JASSMs from the American defense giant Lockheed Martin or 177 Tauruses, manufactured by Germany-based Taurus Systems GmbH.The JASSM has a shorter range, but is known to incorporate superior stealth technology compared to the TAURUS.  An industry insider said the F-15K is compatible with the Taurus, which experts say Korea is seeking to avoid purchasing due to its higher price tag, but unable to carry the JASSM, the favorite choice for the Air Force, under both wings. &nbsp

Nov 5, 2012

Korea's standoff missile purchase project faces hurdles

A U.S.-made air-to-ground missile South Korea has pushed to purchase in order to arm its main F-15K fighter jets does not fit the aircraft because of a design inconsistency with the missile, a senior procurement official said Monday.The finding is expected to delay South Korea's project to purchase a standoff missile system to be loaded with its fighter jets so as to bolster its airborne combat capabilities against North Korea.Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) with a 370-kilometer range has been considered a favorite, as the U.S. firm offered a cheaper price than its German competitor Taurus System's 500-km standoff missile.A recent test showed, however, that Lockheed's JASSM doesn't fit the F-15K, as its upper wing folds only to the left side. The Defense Acquisition and Procurement Administration (DAPA) has asked Boeing, the F-15K maker, and Lockheed Martin about ways to install the missile on the F-15K, but both have not responded, the official said."To install the JASSMs in both wings of the F-15K, either F-15K's pylon or the JASSM's upper wing shoul

Nov 5, 2012

Israel interested in buying 4 warships from Korea: official

Israel has expressed an interest in buying four frigates from South Korea and plans to send a team of its officials to Seoul next month to pursue a potential deal, a Seoul official said Saturday. "Israel recently expressed an interest to buy four frigates," said the official at the state-run weapons procurement agency, Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

Nov 3, 2012

Korea pushes to sell T-50 training jets to UAE's flight training center

Korea and the United Arab Emirates are in talks about jointly establishing a military flight training center in the Middle Eastern nation, officials said Thursday, a project that raises hopes for Seoul's export of T-50 trainer jets.Negotiations are going in a direction that calls for the UAE to set up the facility with the help of foreign investments while South Korea exports the supersonic jet trainers, training equipment and flight technologies for the training center, officials said."Talks are under way with the UAE side about establishing an international military flight training center," a senior military official told Yonhap News. "We anticipate the discussions will progress specifically and an agreement can be reached early next year."Such a deal would pave the way for South Korea to export about 700 billion won ($641 million) worth of planes and military equipment, including 20 T-50 training jets, the official said, asking anonymity, citing ongoing negotiations.The T-50 Golden Eagle is South Korea's first supersonic jet and was developed jointly by the state-funded Korea Aero

Nov 1, 2012

Seoul moving to shrink defense acquisition agency

Korea's defense ministry is moving to take over some key roles of the country's defense acquisition agency, stoking fears that the changes could undermine transparency in arms acquisitions and defense projects, officials said Wednesday.According to the officials, the Cabinet passed a revision bill on transfer of authority to test and evaluate defense capability improvement projects to the defense ministry. The National Assembly must pass the bill in order for it to take effect.Under the revision bill, the defense minister is also in charge of mapping out test plans for arms and mid-term military projects.A similar revision bill was submitted to the National Assembly last year for approval, but was scrapped as it failed to pass through a National Assembly committee.Concerns are rising that the move could reduce the role of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). The DAPA was set up in 2006 as part of efforts to enhance efficiency and transparency in buying arms and carrying out military projects. (Yonhap)